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Page 1: Research activities of Spanish antenna groupsoa.upm.es/20378/1/INVE_MEM_2012_134189.pdf · Research activities of Spanish antenna groups ... 3.1 Reflector and horn antennas ... Antennas

Research activities of Spanish antenna groups Manuel Sierra-Pérez

UNIVERSIDAD POLITÉCNICA DE MADRID Av Complutense 30, 28040 Madrid. E-mail manuel.sierra.perez@ upm.es

1. Introduction

When we look at the history of electricity and electromagnetism in Spain we discover that the most important Spanish researchers are generally out of the official institutions or stable research groups until the 20th century [1] [2]. In the 20th century most of the scientific research is done in stable research institutions and universities and the most important electromagnetism research centres in Spain are located in the Faculty of Physics of the most important universities, the National Scientific Research Council (CSIC) and the School for Telecommunication Engineering created in 1923. But the greatest impulse of research in the antenna and radiowave propagation field is done after 1960 reaching the first national URSI conference in 1980. After that year, the relation between groups and the number of research groups is continuously growing and the relation to industry is also increasing. When Spain joins the European research organizations (COST, ERC.) and the European Union in 1985 the research support experience a fast growing and the participation in the European research structures.

In the antenna design field, there exist some specializations although most of the groups have dome specific projects in almost all the antenna analysis and design fields. Here, we have selected the most important and characteristic area related to each of the research groups and institutions.

The easiest way to classify the research work in antennas is the selection between antenna analysis, design and measurement. After that the selected frequency bands technology, the type of antennas and the related circuits can be a good criterion to describe the variety of research work and specialization between groups.

2. Antenna analysis

Although many research groups made their own software applications to solve specific problems, some of them have been especially dedicated to complete commercial applications or to give special services in the antenna analysis and optimization.

Prof. Cátedra (Fellow of IEEE) leaders a group in the University of Alcalá (UAH) with important experience in the application of Method of Moments (MM) and General Theory of Diffraction (GTD) applied to solve especially large electromagnetic models. [3]. From this group was born the company New Fassant, dedicated to commercialize the software products.

Also in the field of MoM, Prof. Rius from the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) has done a great contribution to the field of antenna and microwave circuit analysis [10].

Other groups directed their effort in other analysis methods like Finite Differences Time Domain (FDTD), in the University of Granada (UG), directed by professor R. Gomez, also involved in the design of broadband Grown Penetrating Radar Antennas [4].

The HEMCUVE team, formed by two groups from the University of Extremadura (UEx) and the University of Vigo (UVigo), work in the high performance computing of large-scale problems in electromagnetic using supercomputers and novel acceleration methods (nested-FMM-FFT, MLFMA-FFT) and high precision analysis and design of nanostructures [5].

Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and UEx work together in the ECAM group specialized in application of spherical waves to antenna problems and fast full-wave analysis of finite arrays on a ground plane. Prof. Zapata and Rubio leader the groups [7].

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In the Faculty of Physics at University of Seville (US), prof. F. Medina and his collaborators have been working for many years in special materials and metamaterials modelling for microwave circuits and antennas. [8].

Prof. Rebollar in the Dep. of Electromagnetism of the UPM, direct of a group with large experience In the field of Mode Matching theory for waveguide and horns propagation models. [9]

In the field of analysis and optimization of antenna arrays, Prof Ares (Fellow of IEEE) leaders a group in the University of Santiago (USC) specialized in the synthesis of planar antenna pattern with irregular footprints and low sidelobe levels combined with low dynamic range. [6].

I am sure I forget someone in the field of computational electromagnetics applied to antenna analysis. More information can be found in some national conferences like EIEC (http://www.eiec.it.pt/indexsp.htm) and URSI (http://www.ursi2011 .org/index.htm).

3. Measurement systems

In the field of antenna measurement and other kind of measurement systems, each group own some facilities but only a small number of groups work in the design of measurement systems.

Probably the oldest and most important research group in this area is the Radiation Group from the UPM, directed by Prof. Besada. They are specialized in the design of anechoic chambers and near field antenna measurement systems. They are also well related with international organizations like AMTA and EurAAP. [11]. In fact Prof. Sierra-Castañer is the EurAAP Antenna Measurement Working Group leader.

Connected to the computational electromagnetism, University of Oviedo (UOvi) works in the antenna analysis and electromagnetic scattering complex problems. The leader is Prof. Las Heras. These methods have been specially applied to the inverse radiation problem. [12]

In the field of MIMO measurement with reverberation chambers, the group of Prof. David Sanchez, from Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCt), created a company (EMITE) and can demonstrate high experience in this field as in the MIMO design. This group is also working in the microwave heating and radio-electric emissions measurements. [13].

Special interest for UPC takes the microwave measurement systems for civil engineering structures evaluation. This system is used to measure internal characteristics of steel fiber reinforced concrete. The leader of this activity is Prof. Jofre (Fellow of IEEE). [14]

In the measurement of propagation channels, Prof Riera from UPM is active in this field microwaves and millimeter-waves propagation in the troposphere and measurement system design [15].

4. Antenna Design

All the antenna research groups in Spain have been working in some specific antenna design and prototype construction. It is very difficult to enumerate all the research activities in all the groups because it will take a long time and extension. Perhaps the best way is to proceed in the reverse way and to underline the group or groups specialized or with prominent results in some specific type of antennas and technologies.

3.1 Reflector and horn antennas Many groups have been working in reflector design but the most important group in the

area is managed by Prof. A. Garcia-Pino from the University of Vigo. They have been working for many years in the design of conformal reflector antennas for a great variety of applications up to millimetre wave bands. [15].

Horn antennas are also a classical design where every group has some contribution, but the most important contribution to this development came from the Public University of Navarra. The group headed by Prof. C. Del Rio is working also in many projects about antenna arrays and metamaterials for millimetre wave bands. [17].

3.2 Broadband and multiband antennas Now the research on wideband antennas in the microwave bands is very important to the

development of wideband communication systems. It is also very important the study of

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multisystem reduced size antennas, used mainly in mobile communications. In this field some contributions appear in the national congresses, but probably the most important come from the Technical University of Valencia (UPV), with broadband antenna designs heading by Prof Ferrando [18] and from UPC laddered by Prof. Romeu in the field of fractal and multiband antennas [19]. In this area of multiband antennas is important to mention a relatively new group directed by Prof. Parrón from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), [24]

3.3 Array antennas. Array antennas are one of the most attractive design areas in the last years and many people

is involved in some of these type of antennas. In the passive array design area is possible to find many groups in the UPM (Prof. Sierra-Perez [20]), UPV (Prof. Valero-Nogueira [21]), mainly in the slot and printed antenna arrays. A new group in a relatively new research centre at Autonomous University of Madrid (UA) is also working in this area, directed by Prof. Masa-Campos [22]. Prof. Camacho-Peñalosa is also working in this area from the University of Malaga (UMa).

Other specific area is the leaky wave antennas, sometimes structured as an array but many times associated to low speed propagation waves in radiating lines. In this area, the recent work done by Prof Alvarez-Melcon in the UPCt is especially important. [25].

Prof. Encinar (Fellow of IEEE), from UPM, leaders a group with a very important contribution to reflectarray antenna research. They were the winner of the 2007 Schelkunoff award to the best paper in the IEEE TAP. [26], [27].

3.4 Active antennas and MIMO systems. We consider active antennas as those that can modify the pattern and are associated to some

active elements. In this sense the most important contributions came from the UPM in scan and digital processing active antennas for satellite communications (Radiation Group coordinated by Prof. Sierra Perez [28]), UPC in the field of reconfigurable millimetre wave antennas. (Daniel Rodrigo [29]) and UPV in the study of reconfigurable antennas with MEMs (Prof. Ferrando [30]). The implementation of LTCC technology in this laboratory may give a strong impulse to the active array research in microwaves and millimetre waves.

In the MIMO systems it is difficult to distinguish between the antenna design, signal processing and propagation models. An important group working in the MIMO systems and measurement is in UPM (Prof. De Haro [31]). Other groups involved in the MIMO measurement and channel measurement work in UPC (Prof Romeu [32]) and in UPCt (Prof Juan-Lacer [33]).

Acknowledgments

This document was prepared as an actualization of the Antenna Research Activity in Spain, published in 2006 as a work included in the Spanish Antenna Network (RESA) [34].

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